ENG 817 Contemporary Approaches to Teaching Composition

Spring 2011

Salem State University


Instructor: Rick Branscomb
Office: MH 104
Office Hours: TTh 10:00 - 11:00; T 1:00 - 3:00; Th 3:00 - 4:00
Phone: (978) 542-6142
email: ebranscomb@mac.com
AIM Screen Name: ebranscomb
Twitter: rickbransc
Professional Home Page: http://web.mac.com/ebranscomb/academic/Home.html

CATALOG DESCRIPTION:

This course will investigate the research and theories which inform current composition pedagogy. Students will practice adapting various theoretical perspectives to actual classroom situations.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Dixon, Chris Jennings. Lesson Plans for Teaching Writing. Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English, 2007.
Hicks, Troy. Digital Writing Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2009.
Johnson, T. R. Teaching Composition: Background Readings 3/e. Boston: Bedford Saint Martin's, 2008
Natl Writing Project. Because Digital Writing Matters. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Incorporated Publishers, 2010.
Newkirk, Thomas. Holding on to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2009

Course Requirements:

1 Midterm Project, due March 8 (25%)
1 1500-word minimum Paper, due April 5 (25%)
1 Final Presentation, Due May 3 (25%)
Short, weekly in-class writing (25%)
There is no final exam